KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched Pakistan’s Financial Inclusion Index (P-FII), a comprehensive national measure designed to assess the state of financial inclusion across the country by evaluating access to, usage of, and quality of financial services.

According to the inaugural results, Pakistan’s overall financial inclusion score stood at 58.1 in 2024, offering a baseline for tracking progress under future policy initiatives.

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Index Aligned With SBP’s Financial Inclusion Mandate

Improving financial inclusion is a core mandate of the central bank under the SBP Act, 1956. In line with this objective, SBP is implementing the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2024–28, which aims to expand access to financial services while improving their usage and service quality nationwide.

The development of the P-FII reflects SBP’s commitment to evidence-based policymaking, allowing policymakers to track inclusion gaps and design targeted reforms.

Broad Coverage Across Banking and Payment Services

The P-FII is based on 69 indicators covering banking, non-banking, and payment services offered by banks and other financial institutions. These indicators assess:

• Financial sector infrastructure
• Usage of financial products and services
• Quality and effectiveness of financial services

The index has been developed in line with international best practices, with each indicator benchmarked against defined target values representing outcomes SBP aims to achieve by 2030.

Development Process and Global Benchmarking

SBP began work on the P-FII in 2023, conducting an extensive research study reviewing methodologies and data parameters used by central banks and multilateral organisations worldwide. This was followed by detailed consultations with both domestic and international stakeholders to refine and finalise the index.

The initiative aligns Pakistan with a growing global trend in which central banks use financial inclusion indices to assess the reach, effectiveness, and inclusivity of their financial systems.

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Annual Publication Planned

Going forward, SBP plans to publish the P-FII annually, enabling year-on-year tracking of progress under the NFIS framework. A detailed technical paper explaining the methodology and results has been made available on the SBP website.